Final Fantasy (ProReview)
Does Final Fantasy for the NES hold up after all these years? Jared investigates. Synopsis Jared tells the story about Square going out of business, and release one more game called Final Fantasy. It was originally called Fighting Fantasy, but that name was already taken. They came up with the next F word they can think of. The word 'Fuck' starts to appear on the screen, and Jared says not that one! Jared has had a long sentimental history with the Final Fantasy franchise. The original game is how Jared got started, but has never given it a critical eye. The party consists of whatever you want it to be. There are four party members with six classes to choose from. This gives a lot of replay-ability - just don't do four white mages. Jared decides to make a fighter, thief, white mage and black mage, and brings his friends along. Unfortunately, the names can only have four letters, so the characters are Peeb, Jerd, Ian and Joof. The story starts at Corneria, with the party starting with nothing except for 400g to buy weapons and spells. The four warriors must save the princess. After realizing how dirty his face is, and feeling personally attacked, the party faces random battles! The enemy party is clear, and the party themselves can be seen. Game before Final Fantasy shows a lot more detail and simple animations, making the battle feel more alive than ever before. Jared discusses how battles work. Enemies need to be targeted carefully, as targeting a creature that dies before they can be attacked makes the attack miss. A lot of people had an issue with this. With this system, you can't just mash the A button, the player must play more strategically. Jared explains a strategy. Battles feel like they take longer, but it is awesome that the battles can be watched after being planned out. The battles feel slow placed, and feels that the results at the bottom of the screen is like a dungeon master. This battle system isn't better than others, but it held some unique abilities on its own, and it still holds up today. If you find this combat too slow or boring, you're not wrong. The level ups in this game are so good. Jared wants to know exactly what improves. It is good to see Joof being able to have a big HP boost, because it takes forever for him to reach 200. Garland is as intimidating as a NES can let him be. Jared explains one of the most iconic screens in the history of Final Fantasy. This scene sets up the beginning of the journey, as the world opens up. This is the first instance of the Final Fantasy theme. This scene will be used in every Final Fantasy game from here on - except for 2, 10 and 13. Jared discusses the baseline at the start of the battles. Jared is excited to hear the battle music. Few things are as nostalgic of the Final Fantasy victory theme. The prelude plays as soon as you start up. The black mage has endured the most. Even this game has robots that are more advanced than the modern day. The game involves the characters collecting four crystals of the elements. Gee, a game where you collect four items of the elements. Jared doesn't know how to make this joke work! The general story is loose as the characters solve smaller arcs that lead to an overall story. There are great moments of breaking linearity. Several areas can be skipped, and played out of order. Bahamut can power up the party after doing his quest. Jared likes this moment, as the party didn't just level up, but appear more mature and experienced. It feels exciting to level up. Does the game do anything wrong? Well, half the game doesn't work. There are so many bugs and glitches in this game. Some of the spells don't work. A lock spell makes enemies more evasive rather than lowering it! The Intelligence stat doesn't work, and the luck stat is used to run away, which also doesn't work properly. The one defining trait of the thief is useless. There are many weapons that are supposed to be used on certain enemies. None of them work! The Peninsula of Power can be helpful to bump up experience and gold. It is needed sometimes, as this game has a lot of difficulty spikes. The first true dungeon is the Marsh Cave, which will kick your ass. Many enemies will poison you! Jared discusses the difficulties of the other dungeons. The super rare War Mech can randomly show up, and you have to defeat the dungeon again! The game ends back where it began, and the party is sent 200 years into the past. Garland is the final boss. Do you remember him? Garland becomes the evil Chaos, who is defeated, and the players are sent back to the future. The game is self-fulfilling making a convoluted story. The entire graphical detail was put into the 'The End' screen. Jared enjoyed playing this again, having as much fun as he had 30 years ago. Final Fantasy 1 is still worth playing again, but not this version. Jared discusses the various released. Any other version is better then the original. The PS1 offers the best updates, while the PSP version plays different, but looks the best and has the most content. Someone who is old school or has a lot of patience can play the original. Jared scores the game a black mage out of ten. It is simple, but everything has endured to this day. It is as old school as it gets. Strategic battles keep the player engaged, but the story won't. The modern ports are still good. This game made Jared the RPG player he is today. Jared adores this game. Jared fell in love with the series. 1 will be among Jared's favorite Final Fantasy games. Jared thinks that the other Final Fantasy games should be just as good. Category:ProReview Category:Videos